The Best NBA Moments of 2018

This year has been great for basketball and its fans as the game has given a lot of reasons to be happy about. The fans were witnesses to some of the greatest sporting achievements and this calendar year was yet another great year with a lot of memorable moments.

The Golden State Warriors won their second straight NBA championship after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in four straight games. With only a few more days left in 2018, now is a great time to look at the top five moments of 2018 in the NBA.

#5 Kevin Durant winning his second Finals MVP trophy

Kevin Durant took home his second Bill Russell Finals MVP trophy

Finals Stat line: 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.3 blocks per game

Kevin Durant became a two-time NBA champion when the Golden State Warriors swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2018 NBA finals. Kevin Durant was once again named the Finals MVP for the second straight year.

Durant was red-hot in the finals and came up big for the Warriors with consistent performances. In particular, in the Game 3 of the Finals, when Stephen Curry could not get it going from the field, Durant went off and dropped 43 points on unconscious 15-for-23 shooting, including an impressive 6-for-9 shooting from downtown.

The 2014 regular season MVP was incredible throughout the season and when Curry got injured, Durant did everything he possibly could to get some wins for the Warriors although the team failed to perform to the level they should have performed.

With two NBA championships and two Finals MVP trophies, Durant's resume only got better after joining the Warriors team and it will be interesting to see if he agrees to re-sign with them when he enters the free agency.

#4 Klay Thompson breaking single-game three-point record

Klay Thompson broke the record for most three-pointers in a single game against the Chicago Bulls

Klay Thompson did not have the kind of start he would have liked to the 2018-19 NBA season and after a string of poor performances, a lot of pressure was built on Klay and everyone knew it was about time he went off.

Thompson, who is one of the key players for the Warriors, is known for getting hot in no time and knocking down three-pointers at great accuracy. Coming off a pale performance against the Brooklyn Nets where he scored 18 points on 8-for-17 shooting, including 1-for-5 from behind the arc, Thompson exploded for 52 points and led the Warriors to a blowout win against the Chicago Bulls.

En route to his 52 points, he knocked down 14 three-pointers and broke Steph Curry's record of 13 made three-pointers. He finished the night shooting 18-for-29, including 14-for-24 from downtown.

Klay only featured in three quarters of action and did not play in the fourth quarter. This has to be a very memorable moment for Klay and also the Warriors because, with the odds stacked up against him, he produced a standout performance to snap out of shooting slump.

#3 Russell Westbrook averaging a triple-double for the second straight year

Russell Westbrook averaged a triple-double over the season once again

In the 2016-17 campaign, Russell Westbrook achieved something unbelievable and something that had not been done in 55 years after averaging a triple-double over the entire season. That is not all as 'The Brodie' followed it up with another triple-double season and proved that there will never be another Russ.

Westbrook featured in 80 games in the 2017-18 and averaged 25.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game over the season. Playing alongside two former All-Stars Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, Russ had a lot of standout performances but the Thunder as a team failed to make an impact.

They underperformed and did not meet the expectations of the fans as they once again finished the season after losing in the First Round of the playoffs. Westbrook was impressive to the most part but his decision making in the series against the Utah Jazz was questioned by NBA critics

#2 LeBron James joining the Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron James decided to join the Los Angeles Lakers in the offseason

After carrying the Cleveland Cavaliers on his back to four straight finals and winning it all in 2016, there were a lot of rumblings in the NBA regarding James' free agency decision after the season got over.

On July 1st, James announced that he was signing a four year, $153.3 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers and that decision of his turned the league upside down. Cleveland fans thanked the four-time MVP for bringing home their only championship.

Los Angeles fans obviously got excited on hearing the news and the entire media went bonkers. The NBA news was filled with articles on James for the next one month and the analysts started making their predictions for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2018-19 season.

On October 18, 2018, LeBron made his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers and had 26 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists to put together a double-double in the loss against the Portland Trail Blazers.

#1 James Harden winning the regular season MVP award

James Harden holding the MVP trophy with his mom

This has to be the best moment of the year 2018. James Harden was snubbed for MVP award several times in his career. However, after averaging his career-high in points, Harden was finally presented with the MVP trophy.

He had by far the best season of his career in 2017-18 as he led the Houston Rockets to Conference Finals with consistent performances. Even though everyone expected it to be a close contest between LeBron and Harden, the 29-year-old won the MVP award in a landslide over James.

When the NBA commissioner announced his name, the crowd erupted in joy as he finally got the amount of recognition he deserved for his heroics in the NBA. He delivered a short and wonderful speech with his mom by his side.

“Sixth Man of the Year to the MVP. Shout out to all the youngins who got a dream, a vision. Go take it. Go chase that dream.

“I’ll see you all next year.”